The Culture of Classical Greece
Greeks considered religion to be important to the well being of the state and it affected every aspect of Greek life. Twelve chief gods and goddesses were believed to reside on, the highest mountain in Greece.
was king of the Olympians. Brother to,,,, and Ruler of the sky and often portrayed with a lightning bolt. He had children with mortal women which were known as
was the sister and wife of Zeus. She was the goddess of and. A jealous goddess, especially of the children that Zeus had with mortals.
was the god of the sea. Often pictured with his three pronged. He was a popular god of many Greeks as they made a living on the sea.
wa s the goddess of and the harvest. Mother to Persephone, the wife of.
was the god of the underworld. Married to Persephone. In order to cross into his realm it was believed you had to pay his ferryman,. Greeks often place coins on the eyes of the dead because of this belief. His three headed dog helped him ensure no one escaped the underworld.
was the Greek god of war. Son of Zeus and Hera. He represented the physical violent aspect of war.
is the Greek goddess of the hearth, architecture, and the order of the home and state. She is commonly associated with the feeling of.
was the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.
has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, and poetry. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the huntress
is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Wife of the ugliest god and lover of meanest god.
Dionysus was the god of wine and fertility.
was the goddess of the. The daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Apollo.
Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire. Son of Zeus and Hera. As a smithing god, Hephaestus made all the weapons of the gods in Olympus. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece, particularly Athens.
Greek rituals and festivals were developed in the hopes that the gods would look favorably on their activities. One of the main festivals held by the Greeks was at. It was a contest of physical might and athletic games first held in 776 B.C.
To learn the will of the gods the Greeks would visit an, or sacred shrine, where the future was revealed through a priest or priestess. The most famous oracle was at, dedicated to Apollo.
In terms of Greek architecture the was the most important. The center of Greek temples housed statues of Greek gods and goddesses and treasuries dedicated to them. The most famous Greek temple was built in Athens, the. Built between 447 B.C. and 432 B.C. it is regarded as the greatest example of the Greek temple.
During the period in Greece sculptors perfected their artistic work. Classical Greek sculptors did not seek to achieve realism, but rather a. wrote down systematic rules for proportions that he illustrated in Doryphoros. He believed that the use of ideal proportions, based in, could produce the ideal form.
The western idea of theatrical drama was created by the Greeks. Plays were performed in outdoor theaters as part of religious festivals. - were Greek drama s (set of three- a trilogy) built around a common theme. The only complete trilogy possessed today is the, written by Aeschylus.
writer of was another great playwright. In the story accurately foretells that Oedipus will kill his own father and marry his. Despite trying to avoid this he does commit these tragic acts.
Euripides created more developed characters by creating and showed greater interest in real life situations. He was controversial in his writing; and by showing compassion for women and children who suffered because of it.
Greek were developed later than tragedies and were used to criticize politicians and intellectuals. They were meant to both entertain and provoke reaction. One of the most famous Greek comedic writers was who wrote plays full of puns and satire.
In Western Civilization the Greeks were the first to present history as a systematic analysis of past events. is viewed as being the first historian after he wrote. Herodotus traveled widely and questioned many people as a means of obtaining his information.
is considered to be the greatest historian of the ancient world. An Athenian general who fought in the and would later write a historical account of it. Thucydides saw war and politics as the activities of humans and not. He examined the war clearly and fairly.
refers to an organized system of thought. The term comes from a Greek word that means Many Greek philosophers tried to explain the universe on the basis of.
taught that the essence of the universe could be found in music and numbers. He is most famous for the discovery of the theory.
The were a group of traveling teachers in ancient Greece who rejected speculation as foolish. They believed is was beyond the reach of the human mind to understand the universe. They felt it more important for individuals to improve themselves. The Sophists were professional teachers who stressed the importance of, which was valuable in democratic Athens.
The Sophists goal was to, not promote particular beliefs. To the Sophists there was no True wisdom consisted of being able to perceive and pursue one s own good. Because of many of the Sophists belief people viewed their teaching as harmful to society.
Socrates was a sculptor whose real love was philosophy. He believed the goal of education should be to improve the individual. He taught is students to live their life by a code of ethics. He believed people could be happy living moral lives, and that they could also be taught how to behave morally. Socrates used a teaching method consisting of to lead students to see things for themselves. It would become known as the Socratic method. Socrates believed
, a student of Socrates and considered to be one of the greatest philosophers in Western civilization. He was fascinated with the question of reality. Plato explained his ideas on government in his work. He believed people could not achieve a good life unless they lived in a just and rational state.
At Plato s school in Athens, was the most famous student. He studied at Plato s for 20 years. He did not accept Plato s idea of ideal forms. He believed forms were part of things themselves. Aristotle believed people s happiness was tied to their behavior and that happiness was the result of living a life full of virtue. He was interested in based on observation and investigation. Sylllogism He believed, after much study, that the best form of government for most people was constitutional.